Playing Field Borders for a Small Playing Field

ABSTRACT

A playing field boundary for a small playing field, which is modularly constructed of fence elements (16) in the form of plates or panels and vertical posts, to which these fence elements (16) are attached. The individual panels of the fence elements are bordered at least on the top by approximately horizontally running handrail profiles (17), wherein butt connectors (18) are respectively provided, which each overarch two adjacent handrail profiles (17) across a part of their length at the region where they meet. The butt connectors (18) each connect two adjacent fence elements (16) among one another, wherein fastening devices extending in the transverse direction to the handrail profiles (17) are provided in order to connect one butt connector (18) each to two adjacent handrail profiles (17) respectively. and wherein shearing/pressure elements are provided in the region of the butt connectors.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the priority of DE 102019125318.7 filed on 2019Sep. 20; this application is incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to a playing field boundary for a smallplaying field, which is modularly constructed of fence elements in theform of plates or panels and vertical posts, to which these fenceelements are attached, wherein the individual panels of the fenceelements are bordered at least on the top by approximately horizontallyrunning handrail profiles, wherein butt connectors are respectivelyprovided, which each overarch two adjacent handrail profiles across apart of their length at the region where they meet, wherein the buttconnectors each connect two adjacent fence elements to each other,wherein fastening devices extending in the transverse direction to thehandrail profiles are provided in order to connect one butt connectoreach to two adjacent handrail profiles, and wherein shearing/pressureelements are provided in the region of the butt connectors torespectively connect adjacent handrail profiles to one another in theirlongitudinal direction in a high-tensile-strength and pressure-resistantmanner.

A playing field boundary for a small playing field with the features ofthe above-mentioned type has become known from DE 10 2009 005 533 A1 forexample. In this known solution, stop elements are provided on the innerside on the handrail profiles to be connected, which serve as thrustbearings for plate elements, which can be pushed into the handrailprofiles, wherein, via the plate elements and the stop elements, theadjacent handrail profiles can be connected to one another in ahigh-tensile-strength and pressure-resistant manner by means of a screwconnection. Alternatively to this, the fastening device for theconnection of two adjacent fence elements can comprise cam elements,which serve as thrust bearings for cam elements inside the buttconnector, wherein the adjacent handrail profiles can be connected toone another in a high-tensile-strength and pressure-resistant manner bymeans of a screw connection in the transverse direction. The camelements comprise surfaces that are rectangular to one another and camsurfaces that are firmly fixed inside the butt connectors are assignedto these cam elements and align with this in the mounted position of thebutt connectors.

SUMMARY

The invention relates to a playing field boundary for a small playingfield, which is modularly constructed of fence elements (16) in the formof plates or panels and vertical posts, to which these fence elements(16) are attached, wherein the individual panels of the fence elementsare bordered at least on the top by approximately horizontally runninghandrail profiles (17), wherein butt connectors (18) are respectivelyprovided, which each overarch two adjacent handrail profiles (17) acrossa part of their length at the region where they meet, wherein the buttconnectors (18) each connect two adjacent fence elements (16) among oneanother, wherein fastening devices extending in the transverse directionto the handrail profiles (17) are provided in order to connect one buttconnector (18) each to two adjacent handrail profiles (17) respectively,and wherein shearing/pressure elements are provided in the region of thebutt connectors to respectively also connect adjacent handrail profilesto one another in their longitudinal direction in ahigh-tensile-strength and pressure-resistant manner, wherein, accordingto the invention, pins or bolts integrated into the butt connectors areprovided as shearing/pressure elements, which each engage intocorresponding bore holes of two adjacent handrail profiles (17).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The object of the present invention is to create a playing fieldboundary for a small playing field of the above type, in which analternative, constructionally simple and effective solution is providedfor the transmission of shear forces in the longitudinal direction ofthe handrail profiles, as well as for the absorption of tensile andcompressive forces, which act on the playing field boundary in thetransverse direction.

The solution to this task provides a playing field boundary for a smallplaying field of the aforementioned genre with the characteristicfeatures of the main claim.

According to the invention, it is provided that pins or bolts integratedinto the butt connectors are provided as shearing/pressure elements,which each engage into corresponding bore holes of the two adjacenthandrail profiles. The pins or bolts create a shear-resistant connectionbetween the handrail profiles and the butt connectors in thelongitudinal direction of the handrail. For example, one, two, three, orfour or a plurality of pins or bolts can be provided on each buttconnector. If the butt connector comprises at least two pins or bolts,one pin or bolt can engage into each of the two adjacent handrailprofiles to be connected. For example, in the case of four pins or boltson a butt connector, two pins or bolts can each engage into two boreholes of each of the two adjacent handrail profiles.

The small playing fields according to the invention have a rectangularground layout with two longitudinal sides and two transverse sides. Theplaying field boundary according to the invention usually comprisescorner posts, which optionally have a larger vertical extension than thepanels in the corner regions, i.e. where the longitudinal sides eachmeet the transverse sides. Intermediate posts are arranged between thecorner posts at least on the longitudinal sides at distances to eachother. Particularly on the longitudinal sides of the playing fieldboundary, considerable shear forces occur that act on the playing fieldboundary since the spectators push against this. The aforementioned pinsor bolts in the butt connectors, which engage into the bore holes of thehandrail profiles of two adjacent fence elements, absorb the shear andtensile forces acting in the longitudinal direction of the playing fieldboundary.

Preferably, the pins or bolts are each welded into the butt connectors,thereby being connected to these in a substance-to-substance manner.

In accordance with a preferred further embodiment of the presentinvention, the butt connectors are designed as downwardly openU-profiles and the pins or bolts are each attached on the inner sideand, in the mounted state, attached to an upper horizontal bar of theseU-profiles protruding downwards.

According to the invention, it is preferred that the handrail profilesare designed as rectangular profiles and the bore holes that receive thebolts or pins of the butt connectors are incorporated into the upperhorizontal wall of the rectangular profiles.

In accordance with a preferred further embodiment of the invention, toconnect the vertical posts of the playing field boundary to thehandrail, the vertical posts are extended upwardly into the buttconnectors and the posts each comprise a head plate with at least onebore hole, wherein the butt connectors comprise at least onecorresponding bore hole for a fastening screw, which is used to connectthe butt connectors to the posts in the vertical direction. By means ofthis, the butt connectors, which preferably have a U-shaped crosssection and are open towards the bottom and are also rounded off at thetop, are secured against being removed or falling from the handrail. Viathese screw connections, the vertical forces are therefore alsointroduced into the posts by the butt connectors overarching thehandrail profiles.

In accordance with a preferred further embodiment of the invention, inaddition to the handrail profiles in the lower regions of the panels,footpath profiles are provided, which extend in the longitudinaldirection of the playing field boundary, wherein, in the connectingregion of two adjacent fence elements, butt connectors, which are opentowards the top and have a U-shaped cross-sectional profile, areprovided for the footpath profiles, wherein pins or bolts, which engageinto corresponding bore holes of the footpath profiles, are alsointegrated into these butt connectors, which are used asshearing/pressure elements in the footpath region. The handrails, whichpreferably have a U-shaped profile, as well as the correspondingfootpath profiles border the preferably sound-dampened sandwich panels,thereby forming a largely stiff playing field wall. The said footpathprofiles, which extend within the lower region of the playing fieldboundary are suitable, due to the pins or bolts that are also presenthere, for reliably introducing, in a static manner, shearing/pressureforces acting on the ground level into the footpath profiles, therebytransmitting these forces onto the corner posts of the playing field.

For example, a U-shaped socket can be welded onto the bottom of thevertical posts as a butt connector, which is provided withthrust-pressure pins on both sides of the post.

The footpath profiles are provided with corresponding bore holes and areinserted into this U-shaped socket in a non-positive locking manner.

A possible constructional variant of the invention provides that atleast some of the vertical posts are designed as intermediate posts,which comprise, in the region of the butt connectors, two a verticallyrunning metal sheets orientated in the longitudinal direction of theplaying field boundary and a vertically orientated U-profile, which isarranged between these metal sheets and connected to these metal sheets,wherein only the two metal sheets extend downwards in the verticaldirection to the butt connectors.

The vertical intermediate posts may comprise a reinforced constructionof the aforementioned type, wherein the intermediate posts may bereinforced by a vertically running additional rectangular post profilearranged next to the two metal sheets and the U-profile.

In a preferred constructional design variant of the invention, it issuch that, at a distance to inner handrail profiles, parallel outerhandrail profiles are furthermore arranged, which are also connected toeach other via butt connectors in the longitudinal direction, whereinprofile-like connectors running at a right angle to the inner and outerhandrail profiles connect the butt connectors to one another for theinner handrail profiles and for those for the outer handrail profiles,wherein the butt connectors for the outer handrail profiles canpreferably be connected to the outer handrail profiles via pins orbolts, which each engage into corresponding bore holes of the twoadjacent handrail profiles, and/or via horizontal screw connections.

Due to the connectors running between the inner handrail profile and theouter handrail profile, a kind of Vierendeel system is created, whereinthe connectors consist, for example, of a rectangular pipe and can bewelded into the preferably U-shaped handrail profiles in a rigid manner.The connectors are used to receive the vertical forces acting on theouter handrail, for example, due to leaning or even sitting spectators,wherein, preferably, a reinforcement blade protruding outwardly from thevertical post at right angle is present, which has a standing surface atits underside.

The constructional variant with the additional parallel outer handrailis particularly suitable for creating a playing field boundary thatremains stable over the long term, which can do without foundationsfirmly anchored in the ground. This makes it possible to save onconstruction work for laying foundations. In addition, there are manylocations for the small playing fields, for example, in the area of acontaminated building site, where the removal of excavation masses isvery expensive or technically impossible to achieve due to the pollutionof the soil, for example, when sealing protective film systems arepresent in the soil, which secure former landfills and thus do not allowfor deeper foundations.

The features mentioned in the subclaims relate to preferred furtherembodiments of the task solution according to the invention. Furtheradvantages of the invention arise from the following detaileddescription.

In the following, the present invention is described in more detailbased on the exemplary embodiments with reference to the encloseddrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The figures show:

FIG. 1 a schematically simplified top view on a small playing fieldaccording to the invention;

FIG. 2 a perspective view of a section of the playing field boundary;

FIG. 3 a side view of a single butt connector;

FIG. 4 a view of two parallel butt connectors in the direction of thearrow IV viewed from FIG. 5;

FIG. 5 a top view in the region of the butt connectors in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 a view of a section of the handrail in the region of a cornerpost;

FIG. 7 a top view on the handrail in accordance with the view in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 a view of the support structure in the region of an intermediatepost;

FIG. 9 a horizontal section through the intermediate post in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 a top view in the region of the intermediate post in FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 a perspective partial view in the lower region of theintermediate post.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Initially, reference is made to FIG. 1 and the basic structure of asmall playing field according to the present invention is explainedbased on this. This has, for example, a roughly rectangular groundlayout with two parallel longitudinal sides 10, 11, two paralleltransverse sides 12, 13, which connect the two longitudinal sides to oneanother, and four corner posts 14, each in the corner regions, whereeach the longitudinal sides 10 and 11 meet the transverse sides 12, 13.The playing field boundary for the small playing field is modular andconsists of interconnected fence elements 16 on the two longitudinalsides 10, 11 and on the two transverse sides 12, 13 in the form ofplates or panels and vertical posts 15, to which these fence elements 16are attached.

As can be seen in FIG. 2, which shows a section, for example, of one ofthe longitudinal sides of the playing field boundary, the individualpanels 16 of the fence elements are bordered on the top by approximatelyhorizontally running handrail profiles 17, wherein butt connectors 18are respectively provided, which each overarch two adjacent handrailprofiles 17 across a part of their length at the region where they meet,wherein the butt connectors 18 each connect two adjacent fence elements16 among one another and wherein fastening devices 19 extending in thetransverse direction to the handrails are provided in order to connectone butt connector 18 each to two adjacent handrail profiles 17respectively. It can be seen in FIG. 2 that, in addition to the handrailprofiles 17 in the lower regions of the panels 16, footpath profiles 20are provided, which extend in the longitudinal direction of the playingfield boundary, wherein, in the connecting region of two adjacent fenceelements 16, butt connectors 21, which are open towards the top and havea U-shaped cross-sectional profile, are provided for the footpathprofiles 20, wherein these connectors 21 can also be connected to thefootpath profiles 20 via fastening elements, which are still beexplained further below.

Furthermore, it can be seen in FIG. 2 that, at distance to the innerhandrail profiles 17, which are facing the playing field, in addition,parallel outer handrail profiles 22 are arranged, which are alsoconnected to one another via butt connectors 23 in the longitudinaldirection, wherein, profile-like connectors 24 running at right angle tothe inner and the outer handrail profiles connect the butt connectors 18for the inner and those 23 for the outer handrail profiles 22 to oneanother, wherein the butt connectors 23 for the outer handrail profiles22 can preferably be connected to the outer handrail profiles via pinsor bolts, which each engage into corresponding bore holes of the twoadjacent handrail profiles 22, and/or via horizontal screw connections.The connectors 24 are used to receive the vertical forces acting on theouter handrail 22, for example, due to leaning or even sittingspectators, wherein, preferably, a reinforcement blade 26, which has astanding surface at its underside, is present that protrudes outwardlyat a right angle starting from the vertical post 25 located where twoadjacent panels 16 meet.

More detailed details concerning the vertical posts 15 and the outwardlyprotruding reinforcement blades 26 are derived from the illustration inaccordance with FIG. 8, to which reference is made below. Some of thevertical posts 15, which lie on the longitudinal sides and optionallyalso on the transverse sides each between the corner posts 14, aredesigned as intermediate posts and comprise, on the one hand, avertically orientated rectangular post profile 27 and, additionally, twometal sheets 28 running vertically and orientated in the region of thebutt connectors in the longitudinal direction of the playing fieldboundary and a vertically orientated U-profile 29, which is arrangedbetween these metal sheets 28 and connected to these metal sheets,wherein only the two metal sheets 28 extend downwards in the verticaldirection to the lower butt connectors 21. The reinforcement blades 26have a lower standing region 26 a, which can also be recognized in thehorizontal section view A-A in accordance with FIG. 9, in which one alsosees the structure of the post with post profile 27, metal sheets 28 anda U-profile 29. In addition, in FIG. 9, the lower upwardly open U-shapedbutt connector 21 for the footpath profiles 20 can be recognized.

In the following, reference is now made to the FIGS. 3 to 5. FIG. 3shows a side view of one of the upper butt connectors 18 for thehandrail profiles 17 at an enlarged scale. In FIG. 4 shows a unit with abutt connector 18 for the inner handrail profile 17, a butt connector 23for the outer handrail profile 22, and a connector 24, which connectsthese two in the transverse direction to the longitudinal extension ofthe playing field boundary, the panels and handrails. In FIG. 5, a topview of this unit is shown. As is shown in FIG. 4, the butt connectors18 are U-profiles that are open downwards. Pins 30 or bolts integratedin the butt connectors 18 are provided as shearing/pressure elements,which each engage into corresponding bore holes of the two adjacenthandrail profiles. These pins 30 or bolts can be welded into the buttconnectors and the pins 30 or bolts can each be attached on the innerside and, in the mounted state, attached to an upper horizontal bar 18a/23 a of these U-profiles 18/23 protruding downwards. The bore holesthat receive the bolts or pins 30 of the butt connectors 18/23 can beincorporated into the upper horizontal wall of the rectangular profilesof the handrail profiles 17. By engaging into the respective bore holesof two adjacent handrail profiles 17, the latter can no longer shift inthe longitudinal direction of the playing field boundary. In FIG. 4, thefastening devices 31 can also be recognized, which extend in thetransverse direction to the longitudinal extension of the handrailprofiles and via which the butt connectors 18 each connect two adjacenthandrail profiles 18.

As FIG. 5 shows, a butt connector 18 comprises, for example, four suchadjacent pins 30, of which two are each beyond the centre (viewed in thelongitudinal direction) of the butt connector 18 so that each of thesepins 30 are assigned to one of the two handrail profiles 17 and eachengage into its bore holes, because the two handrail profiles 17 to beconnected to each other are, of course, overarched by the butt connector18 in such a way that they meet approximately at its centre. As can befurthermore seen from FIG. 5, the butt connectors 23 arranged at adistance to the inner handrail profiles 17 for the parallel outerhandrail profiles 22 are principally constructed in the same way as thebutt connectors 18 for the inner handrail profiles 17 and similarlycomprise, in the mounted state, pins or bolts orientated approximatelyvertically downwards, which each engage into corresponding bore holes ofthe two adjacent outer handrail profiles. In addition, the outer buttconnectors 23 can also be connected to the outer handrail profiles viahorizontal screw connections 31.

In FIG. 8 it can furthermore be recognized that screws 33 are provided,which are vertically screwed into a bore hole of a head plate 34 of theposts and into a bore hole of the butt connector 18, wherein thesescrews 33 can also be recognized in FIGS. 3 and 4. These screws securethe U-shaped butt connectors 18 on the posts against falling off andbeing removed.

In the following, reference is made to FIGS. 6 and 7, which, in eachcase, in the side view or in the top view, show a section of the outerhandrail profiles 22, which runs, on the one hand, in the longitudinaldirection of the longitudinal side 11 of the playing field boundary andwhich is then bluntly angled twice, thereby running towards the cornerpost 14 (see also FIG. 1) so that the outer handrail can be screwed on alateral surface of the corner post 14 via a connecting plate 32 andfastening elements. Due to the doubly-blunt angling, the connectingplate 32 runs in a plane parallel to the longitudinal extension of theouter handrail profiles. In the top view on the entire playing field inaccordance with FIG. 1, the angling in the corner region can also berecognized, through which the outer handrail profile 22 runs towards thecorner post 14. This type of attachment of the outer handrail profile 22via the connecting plate 32 to the corner post 14 also achieves a highlevel of stability in the corner region of the playing field boundaryand a favourable force flow from the longitudinal side 11 to thetransverse side 12 of the playing field boundary.

In the following, reference is made to FIGS. 10 and 11 and, based onthese, the geometric conditions is clarified once again in the region ofone of the intermediate posts 15, wherein one recognizes in the enlargedperspective illustration in accordance with FIG. 11 how the post isconnected to the lower butt connector 21. There, one recognizes the twometal sheets 28 and the adjacent rectangular posts 27; in FIG. 10, theU-profile 29 can also be seen, which extends between the two metalsheets 28 in the transverse direction. In FIG. 11, one can see theupwardly open U-profile of the butt connector 21 for the footpathprofile and one can see that, in the U-bar, there are a total of fourpins 30 approximately lying in a row, which protrude upwards so thatthey can engage into bore holes of the two adjacent footpath profiles20, which connect them in the region where they meet.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

10 longitudinal side

11 longitudinal side

12 transverse side

13 transverse side

14 corner posts

15 intermediate posts, vertical posts

16 fence elements

17 inner handrail profile

18 butt connector

18 upper U-bar

19 fastening devices

20 footpath profile

21 butt connector

22 outer handrail profile

23 butt connector

24 connector

26 a standing space

27 rectangular posts

28 metal sheets

29 U-profile

30 pins, bolts

31 fastening devices, screw connections

32 vertical plate

33 screws

34 head plate

1. Playing field boundary for a small playing field, which is modularlyconstructed of fence elements (16) in the form of plates or panels andvertical posts (14, 15), to which these fence elements (16) areattached, wherein the individual panels of the fence elements arebordered at least on the top by approximately horizontally runninghandrail profiles (17), wherein butt connectors (18) are respectivelyprovided, which each overarch across two adjacent handrail profiles (17)across a part of their length at the region where they meet, wherein thebutt connectors (18) each connect two adjacent fence elements (16) amongone another, wherein fastening devices (31) extending in the transversedirection to the handrail profiles (17) are provided in order to connectone butt connector (18) each to two adjacent handrail profiles (17) andwherein shearing/pressure elements are provided in the region of thebutt connectors to respectively also connect adjacent handrail profilesto one another in their longitudinal direction in ahigh-tensile-strength and pressure-resistant manner, characterized inthat, pins (30) or bolts integrated into the butt connectors areprovided as shearing/pressure elements, which each engage intocorresponding bore holes of two adjacent handrail profiles (17). 2.Playing field boundary for a small playing field according to claim 1,characterized in that the pins (30) or bolts are each welded into thebutt connectors (18).
 3. Playing field boundary for a small playingfield according to claim 1, characterized in that the butt connectors(18) are formed as downwardly open U-profiles and the pins or bolts (30)are each attached on the inner side and, in the mounted state, attachedto an upper horizontal bar (18 a) of these U-profiles protrudingdownwards.
 4. Playing field boundary for a small playing field accordingto claim 1, characterized in that the handrail profiles (17) aredesigned as rectangular profiles and the bore holes that receive thebolts or pins (30) of the butt connectors (18) are incorporated into theupper horizontal wall of the rectangular profiles.
 5. Playing fieldboundary for a small playing field according to claim 1, characterizedin that the vertical posts (15) are extended upwardly into the buttconnectors (18) and the posts each comprise a head plate (34) with atleast one bore hole, wherein the butt connectors (18) comprise at leastone corresponding bore hole for a fastening screw (33), which is used toconnect the butt connectors to the posts in the vertical direction. 6.Playing field boundary for a small playing field according to claim 1,characterized in that, in addition to the handrail profiles (17) in thelower regions of the panels, footpath profiles (20) are provided, whichextend in the longitudinal direction of the playing field boundary,wherein, in the connecting region of two adjacent fence elements (16),butt connectors (21), which are open towards the top and have a U-shapedcross-sectional profile, are provided for the footpath profiles, whereinpins (30) or bolts, which engage into corresponding bore holes of thefootpath profiles (20), are also integrated into these butt connectors(21), which are used as shearing/pressure elements in the footpathregion.
 7. Playing field boundary for a small playing field according toclaim 1, characterized in that at least some of the vertical posts aredesigned as intermediate posts (15), which comprise, in the region ofthe butt connectors (18), two vertically running metal sheets (28)orientated in the longitudinal direction of the playing field boundaryand a vertically orientated U-profile (29), which is arranged betweenthese metal sheets and connected to these metal sheets, wherein only thetwo sheets extend downwards in the vertical direction to the buttconnectors.
 8. Playing field boundary for a small playing fieldaccording to claim 7, characterized in that the intermediate posts (15)are reinforced by a vertically running additional rectangular postprofile (27) arranged next to the two metal sheets (28) and theU-profile.
 9. Playing field boundary for a small playing field accordingto claim 1, characterized in that, at distance to the inner handrailprofiles (17), parallel outer handrail profiles (22) are arranged, whichare also connected to one another via butt connectors (23) in thelongitudinal direction, wherein, profile-like connectors (24) running atright angle to the inner and the outer handrail profiles connect thebutt connectors (18) for the inner handrail profiles and those (23) forthe outer handrail profiles with one another, wherein the buttconnectors (23) for the outer handrail profiles can preferably beconnected to the outer handrail profiles via pins (30) or bolts, whicheach engage into corresponding bore holes of the two adjacent handrailprofiles (22), and/or via horizontal screw connections.
 10. Playingfield boundary for a small playing field according to claim 1,characterized in that, in the corner regions between the longitudinalside (10, 11) of the playing field boundary and the transverse side (12,13) of the playing field boundary, the handrail is bluntly angled twicefrom the longitudinal side viewed from the top and a vertical plate (32)is attached to the handrail on the end side, which plate can be attachedto a corner post via fastening means.